How boys grow up
“Use every man after his desert,
and who should ‘scape whipping?”
(Hamlet, II.ii)
I gather his cleats, and shin guards, and soccer
socks and toss them in the back in a rush
on the way out, only just remembering to close
the garage door. He has forgotten to call
so dinner is two granola bars and all
my yelling his dessert, as I whip up
a day’s frustrations: cereal bowl left
on the table, microwave not cleaned
after exploding eggs, clothes hanging on
the backs of chairs, balled up in corners,
a week’s worth of containers in his kit bag.
The compact car is too small for such a tirade,
and when I ask if he has anything to say to me,
he asks, “Will you stay and watch my game?â€
~ Sean Wiebe
Sean Wiebe is an assistant professor of language and literacy at the university of Prince Edward Island. His papers and poetry appear in a variety of journals and book chapters in the areas of the arts, teacher education and curriculum studies. Recent work has appeared or is forthcoming in The Journal of Educational Thought, Cha: An Asian Literary Journal, Standards, JAAACS, The Windsor Review, Poetry Friends, Apt, Inscribed, Blue Skies Poetry, and Arabesques.
Nice poem. Thanks!
You said it! This brought back memories.
I remember same. Yours so well said it calls up tears. It is your boy’s asking ,”Will you stay for the game?” that did it for me.